Consumer Sentiment Remains Strong in June

Consumer Sentiment increased 0.2 points in June to 98.2, according to the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. June’s figure is 3.4 percent above the June 2017 index. The Current Economic Conditions Index rose 4.7 points to 116.5. The reading was 3.6 percent above the June 2017 estimate. The Consumer Expectations Index declined 2.8 points to 86.3 and was 3.0 percent higher than a year ago.

“Consumer sentiment retreated in late June to just above the May reading largely due to concerns about the potential impact of tariffs on the domestic economy. The falloff in confidence was minor, as the Sentiment Index has been virtually unchanged for the past three months. The persistent strength has been due to favorable assessments of jobs and incomes,” said Richard Curtin, chief economist of UM Surveys of Consumers. “While consumers anticipated rising interest rates during the year ahead, those expected increases were associated with a modest decline in longer term prospects for the national economy. For the year ahead, consumers still anticipated that the economy would produce small additional declines in the unemployment rate as well as higher wage gains.”